


Longevity

by Emanemmy12



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-09
Updated: 2015-02-09
Packaged: 2018-03-11 07:39:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3319415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emanemmy12/pseuds/Emanemmy12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Shaw is Immortal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Longevity

She had seen countless empires rise and then again watched as they started to fall. It had been difficult at first to find things to entertain herself. But then as things got faster and more dangerous, Shaw found a way. Pick a side, participate for 5, 10, or maybe 15 years, then “die” and resurface again. It wasn’t that hard. People were never as careful as they believed. It wasn’t that Shaw thought herself as above or better, but it was the knowledge that she was singular in her existence that made it truly difficult to relate to people, her wiring notwithstanding. Things had been particularly boring. Shaw was working as an agent for the US government, stopping terrorists. Just because she couldn’t die didn’t mean that other people had to have their lives cut short on the stupidity of others. Plus it was something to keep her busy. She hated being bored. And then one day she got a text. It was a blocked number and all it read was “I know who you are.” Shaw ignored it. The message was a bit shocking, but it made no sense for it to be directed at her. It wasn’t until later that she remembered the incident.

The death of her partner and her agency trying to kill her was certainly enough to make her want to leave. Eventually she joined forces with those aligned with the Machine. During their many adventures, she realized that she had been missing out on an important part of living. Shaw had always made herself not make attachments. They only ended in death or sadness, on the part of the other person. She didn’t want to cause more pain than she had to, when she cared. Root got under her skin and somehow, despite her best intentions, Shaw started to care. It had been so long and she just had to make sure to keep Root safe. Of course, the person that after thousands of years that she would deem to care about would be a reformed killer for hire. It wasn’t that Shaw hadn’t been in the same situation, but it was the risk. Root simply didn’t have any caution, any care for her mortality. It was like she was trying to throw herself off a building without checking to see if there was anything to break her fall. If she could give her anything, Shaw always wanted to be able to catch her. She didn’t trust the Machine and John and Harold were only human. So really the choice was obvious when it came down to it at the stock exchange. It had to be her. 

In order to protect herself, Shaw couldn’t go back. She stayed far away, in the distance. Samaritan had left her for dead and it wasn’t anything she wasn’t used to. She watched as Root grieved, moved on, and though there was never anyone else, she seemed happy. Shaw watched as Root, despite her effort not to, grew old. Even with her hair grey and wrinkles, she was still beautiful. No one ever knew what her life had been composed of, but the people who took care of her were kind. They never treated her like an imbecile, something that Shaw wouldn’t have stood for. She had been tempted to visit, but Root would have recognized her. Sameen knew that she didn’t look a day older than when they had first met. That had been how it always was. To visit now would have been cruel. Despite the fact that she had tortured many people over the course of her life, Sameen could have never been cruel to her. Eventually it became too much to watch and Shaw only checked on her remotely. When the end came, she was ready. Shaw wouldn’t have went anyways. What point was there?

No one came to her funeral. Root had outlived both John and Harold. There was no one else. How could there have been? Who would have understood her life better? That night, Shaw made sure to have a night that would have made Root proud. Returning to her apartment, drunk, probably wounded, and angry, Shaw was surprised to find an envelope at her door. She knew the handwriting instantly. It was Root’s. Finger’s shaking, Shaw picked it up and went inside. She didn’t read it. Not that night. Not for many nights after. When she did, Shaw had thought she was prepared for anything. The note itself was simple. “Sameen, Thank you. I never got the chance to thank you and one of the things that I used to tell my patients (did I tell you about that time that I pretended to be a psychologist?) was that it was always better to get the message out rather than keep it in. You helped to show me that caring is not something to be ashamed of. I only wish that we had had more time.” Shaw was surprised when wetness formed around her eyes. That wasn’t supposed to happen. It was probably because she wasn’t well. Just then her phone buzzed. Furrowing her eyebrow, she reached over and picked up the offending device. There shouldn’t have been anyone who had her number. 

The number was blocked. And all it read was “Are you ready to begin?”

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a fix it fic after Shaw got shot. But it turned into something different. My first and hopefully only angst.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Eternal](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3331220) by [Rahlian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rahlian/pseuds/Rahlian)




End file.
